By Staff
The Howard Township 9-year-old All-Star team came through the loser's bracket to win the Hartford tournament.
On Saturday, Howard beat North Lincoln No. 2 20-0 in four innings. Matthew McLaughlin went 4-for-4 at the plate. Zack Webber went 3-for-3 with a double and a triple. Bryan Reed, Tyler Fisher and Zack Fillwock each had triples. Taylor Campbell and Cody Beers had two hits each. Dallas Munger and Alex Grishaber each went 3-for-3. Logan Harpenau also connected for a hit.
Howard played two games on Sunday. In the first game, Howard beat Lakeshore 1-0 in the bottom of the sixth inning. Grishaber knocked in Fillwock for the only run of the game. Both teams played great defense.
In Sunday's second game, Howard beat Benton Harbor 6-3. Defense was the key to the game as Howard did not have any errors. Campbell went 4-for-4 at the plate. McLaughlin and Beers each had three hits and Grishaber had two hits. Reed, Webber and Harpenau each had hits. Luke Fifer had a stolen base.
On Monday night Howard beat North Lincoln No. 1 twice to win the championship. Howard won the first game 12-5. Campbell went 4-for-4 at the plate with a double and a triple. McLaughlin and Munger had three hits apiece. Reed and Webber had two hits each. Fillwock had a 3-RBI triple that broke open the game. Harpenau and Beers each had hits.
In the championship game Howard beat North Lincoln No. 1 8-1. Howard Township's awesome defense only allowed five North Lincoln hits.
Howard had 16 hits. Beers, Reed, McLaughlin, Fillwock, Webber, Grishaber, Fisher and Fifer all had hits.
The 9-year-old All-Star coaches would like to credit the kids for outstanding team play, defense and sportsmanship. They would also like to thank the Howard Township 9-year-old All-Star fans for their support and sportsmanship.
The all-stars began play at Eaton Park Wednesday against Lakeshore.